• CHU Toulouse trusts IP Fabric’s automated assurance platform to ensure continuous network security during their 4-year digital transformation journey.

• The hospital de-risks network automation by integrating IP Fabric with tools like NetBox.

• IP Fabric normalizes all network data to automate reporting for security and compliance.

€18.8 million and 93 projects over the course of just four years: this is the journey Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse is embarking on to modernize their infrastructure and lead the way in healthcare IT. By upgrading their Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, the hospital will not only strengthen security of health data, but also develop a centralized health data warehouse for the entire territory of Western Occitanie—all while complying with Global Data Privacy Regulations (GDPR) and Health Data Housing (HDS) requirements.

Now two years into their project, CHU’s digital transformation is well under way. Read on to learn how they’re leveraging IP Fabric to de-risk the transition while ensuring security and smooth operations for patients, clinicians, and IT teams alike.

How does IP Fabric secure sensitive health data?

Spread between a patchwork of network, storage, and visualization solutions, it’s virtually impossible to get a complete view of the infrastructure. Add a digital transformation project on top of that, and it can be all too easy to let security risks like unmanaged devices and outdated configurations slip through the cracks.

As CHU planned to migrate from Cisco to Aruba, they knew that they needed a network assurance solution to ensure that their transition went smoothly and securely. They started by leveraging IP Fabric’s digital twin capabilities to map and document every device, connection, and config from end to end. In each of these snapshots, CHU also ran automated security and compliance checks to pinpoint issues like orphaned VLANs, misconfigured routing, or outdated devices.

With these snapshots and checks running several times per day, CHU is able to monitor the effects of all changes, and regularly validate that all configs are aligned to business intent. The end result? A smoother and more secure customer experience for both clinicians and patients.

Can you automate compliance?

Without proper oversight, network automation can be a double-edged sword. If automated workflows aren’t informed by the most accurate and up-to-date information, they can cause a ripple effect of costly errors. However, if organizations don’t implement automation because of these risks, they put their security and compliance on the line with slower troubleshooting and remediation.

Take it a step further, and IP Fabric also makes it easy to share normalized infrastructure insights with any team that needs them. CHU employees can connect to IP Fabric via the user-friendly GUI as well as seamless API integrations with tools like NetBox, which CHU uses as a source of truth for IPAM, devices, and interfaces. This seamless collaboration is essential for proactively detecting things like CRC errors and cabling issues long before they can result in breaches, noncompliance, or unbudgeted spend.

What else can you automate?

CHU’s success with IP Fabric has opened the door to more reliable network automation. Their Cisco-to-Aruba migration exemplifies this shift. For instance, IP Fabric now automatically extracts configs from Cisco switches and generates Aruba configs via Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP). After changes are made, IP Fabric syncs data back to CHU’s CMDB so they can easily detect and correct any potential mismatches.

But the transformation extends beyond technical capabilities to daily operations; IP Fabric has become the cornerstone for governing CHU’s digital infrastructure, whether they’re streamlining routine workflows or providing proof of compliance.

Ready to take control of your network security? Try IP Fabric for yourself with our self-guided demo.